Rack system for automatic dishwasher



May 30, 1967 PAYTON ETAL 3,322,479

RACK SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER Filed March 26, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l w s R m mwT v T M A N V M P R mp m in? ma m PM Y. B

y 30, 1967 D. E. PAYTON ETAL 3,322,479

RACK SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC DI$HWASHER Filed March 26, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS DON E. p v om $WE$LE s. PATTLSOVJ THEIR ATTORNY May 30, 1967 p. E; PAYTON ETAL RACK SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 26, 1965 PIC-3.4

. INVENTORS DOIU E. PAYTON wEsLEv s PATTISON BY E, I 2 THE-ZR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,322,479 RACK SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER Don E. Payton and Wesley S. Pattison, both of Louisville, Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 442,953 6 Claims. (Cl. 312-269) This invention relates generally to a rack system for an automatic dishwasher and, more particularly, to a rack system for the upper portion of a top-opening dishwasher.

Two long-standing problems which have heretofore limited the appeal of a top-opening dishwasher are, on the one hand, difliculty of access to the lower dish-supporting rack and, on the other hand, limited capacity of the upper dish-supporting rack due to the opening normally provided therein for access to the lower rack. Various solutions have been proposed for each of these problems; however, it has been discovered that a partial solution of one of the problems usually compounds the other problem. That is, any attempt to increase the capacity of the upper rack in a top-opening dishwasher usually results in less accessibility to the lower rack and, similarly, any attempt to increase accessibility to the lower rack usually results in a loss of capacity of the upper rack. The most successful attempt heretofore to over-come both problems simultaneously is that described and claimed by L, W. Guth in US. Patent 3,087,769, issued on Apr. 30, 1963 and assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention. The rack system described by L. W. Guth provides only a partial solution to the abovediscussed problem since there still is some difficulty encountered in placing dishes in the rear portion of the lower rack due to the positioning of the rear section of the upper rack. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved rack system which facilitates the loading and removal of dishes at the rear portion of the lower rack in a top-opening dishwasher without sacrificing capacity of the upper rack.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved rack system for the upper portion of the top-opening dishwasher.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a rack system for a top-opening dishwasher which increases the accessibility of the lower rack while maintaining or increasing the capacity of the upper rack.

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of this invention, an improved rack system is provided for an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for the access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position. This rack system includes first and second bracket means secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed. The second bracket means are positioned closer to the hinge than the first bracket means. A first rack member is pivotally carried by the first bracket means and a second rack member is pivotally carried by the second bracket means. The first rack member is secured to the first bracket means at a point more remote from the closure member than the point at which the second rack member is secured to the second bracket means, There is a link pivotally secured to the dishwasher cabinet and also pivotally secured to the second rack member. Means are also provided, apart from the closure member and the bracket means, to interconnect the first rack member with the second rack member. With this arrangement, as the clo- 3,322,479 Patented May 30, 1967 sure member is opened, both the first and second rack members move up and out of the Wash chamber.

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention, it is believed the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying darwings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially cut away and partially in section of an automatic dishwasher utilizing the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side view similar to that of FIGURE 1 but showing the closure member of the dishwasher in the open position;

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially cut away and partially in section showing a modified form of the present invention with the closure member closed in the solid line representation and with the closure member opened in the dotted line representation.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1 thereof, there is illustrated a top-opening portable dishwasher 10. Dishwasher 10 includes an outer cabinet 11 having therein a wash chamber 12. Outer cabinet 11 has four interconnected vertical side walls and an open top and bottom. The open top serves as an access opening for the admission of articles to, and removal of articles from, the wash chamber 12. This access opening is provided with a closure member 13 pivotally secured to one wall of cabinet 11 by a hinge member 14. Hinge member 14 includes suitable counterbalance means to compensate for the weight of closure member 13 and the weight of other elements, to be discussed more fully hereinafter, which are carried by the closure member 13. The lower extremity of wash chamber 12 is defined by a bottom wall 15, the periphery of which is in liquid-tight relationship to the four vertical walls of cabinet 11. Bottom wall 15 has a centrally depressed portion forming a sump 16 in which liquid will collect. Disposed within sump 16 and supported by bottom wall 15 is a motor-pump assembly 17 which includes an electrically reversible drive motor 17a and a pump 18. Mounted for rotation at the top of pump 18 is a reaction type spray arm 19 and a spray tube 20. Spray tube 20 has a telescoping element 21 which moves upwardly a short distance in response to fluid pres-- sure to provide additional washing action for dishes supported in the upper portion of wash chamber 12.

Pump 18 has an inlet 22 extending substantially around the entire lower periphery of pump 18 and through which wash fluid enters from sump 16. Pump 18 is of the type which, during rotation of motor 17a in one direction,

withdraws wash fluid from sump 16 through inlet 22 and upwardly into spray arm 19 and spray tube 20. During rotation of motor 17a in this same direction, pump 18 also propels a portion of the Wash fluid into a conduit 23 which passes out through cabinet 11 and into a compartment formed at the front of dishwasher 10 by housing 24. Conduit 23 re-enters wash chamber 12 near the top portion thereof and terminates at a coupling 25. Coupling 25 connects conduit 23 to a second conduit 26 positioned within closure member 13. Second conduit 26 terminates at a small reaction-type spray device 27 rotatably carried just inside closure member 13. With the afore-described arrangement, during one direction of rotation of motor 17a, pump 18 provides wash fluid to spray arm 19, spray tube 20 and spray device 27 which all combine to effectuate a wash action within wash chamber 12.

During the opposite direction of rotation of motor 17a, pump 18 withdraws wash fluid from sump 16 through inlet 22 and propels it to a discharge outlet 28 which communicates with the normal household sewer system (not shown).

At the bottom of cabinet 11, a member 29 is provided to support dishwasher on casters or rollers 30 to render dishwasher 10 capable of convenient movement. An electrical resistance heating element 31 is supported by bottom wall and is provided to facilitate drying of dishes within wash chamber 12 upon completion of washing and rinsing operations.

Of course, means must be provided within wash chamber 12 to support the articles or dishes to be washed in a manner whereby the wash action generated by spray arm 19, spray tube and spray device 27 will effectuate cleansing of the articles. This means includes a lower dish-supporting rack 32 and an upper dish-supporting rack system generally indicated by the numeral 33. For the purposes of the present invention, rack 32 may be assumed to be entirely conventional in form and of the type commonly employed in a top-opening dishwasher. It is the upper dish-supporting rack system 33 which forms the important part of the present invention.

As discussed above, top-opening dishwashers of the type illustrated in FIGURE 1 have faced the two-fold problem of providing suitable accessibility to the lower rack while at the same time maintaining maximum capacity of the upper rack. Prior to the introduction of the arrangement described and claimed in the above-mentioned US. Patent 3,087,769, the conventional means for access to the lower rack comprised a large central opening in the upper rack through which articles could be passed to place them in, or remove them from, the lower rack. The arrangement set forth in US. Patent 3,087,769 made a significant contribution to overcoming the abovedescribed two-fold problem; however, with that arrangement there still existed some inconvenience in inserting and removing articles from the rear portion of the lower rack as well as inserting and removing articles in the rear section of the upper rack system. The present invention constitutes a significant improvement of the rack system disclosed and claimed in US. Patent 3,087,769.

In accordance with the present invention, the rack system 33 comprises a first, or front, bracket 34 rigidly secured to closure member 13 and depending down into wash chamber 12 when closure member 13 is closed. A second, or rear, bracket 35 is similarly rigidly secured to closure member 13 and depends down into wash chamber 12 when the closure member is closed. The terms front and rear describe the relationship of the brackets to each other with respect to the front and rear of the dishwasher 10. Rear bracket 35 is disposed closer to hinge member 14 than is bracket 34. In the preferred form of the present invention, there is actually a pair of front brackets and a pair of rear brackets; however, the second bracket of each pair is hidden in FIGURE 1 since, in each case, the second bracket is disposed directly behind the visible bracket as viewed in FIGURE 1.

A first, or front, rack member 36 is pivotally carried by bracket 34 by means of a pin 37 and clip 38. Although the precise means for pivotally mounting rack member 36 to bracket 34 is not critical to the present invention, it is to be understood that the arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 1 has clip 38 secured to rack member 36 with pin 37 establishing a pivotal relationship between clip 38 and bracket 34. Similarly, a second, or rear, rack member 39 is pivotally carried by bracket 35 through means including a pin 40 and a clip 41.

Rack system 33 further includes a link 42 pivotally secured at one end to a wall of cabinet 11 by means of a clip 43 and a pin 44. As best seen in FIGURE 3, pin 44 may extend through the wall of cabinet 11 and has a pivotal relationship with clip 43 which in turn is rigidly secured to link 42. Link 42 is also pivotally secured to rack member 39 by means of a pair of clips 45 and 46 which are pivotally interconnected by pin 47. It is to be understood that clip 45 is substantially rigid with link 42 and clip 46 is substantially rigid with rack member 39. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, link 42 extends beyond clip 45 to pivotally engage rack member 36. This last-mentioned pivotal engagement is achieved by means of a pair of clips 48 and 49 which are pivotally interconnected by pin 50 in a manner similar to the relationship explained above with regard to clips 45 and 46 and pin 47.

With the above-described rack system 33, the individual elements of the system will assume the relationship illust-rated in FIGURE 2 as closure member 13 is pivoted from its substantially horizontal closed position to its substantially vertical open position. By comparing FIGURES l and 2, it can be seen that, along with the substantial displacement of rack member 36 up and out of the wash chamber 12, rack member 39 also undergoes substantial displacement upwardly to provide significantly better access to the rear portion of the lower rack 32. Access to the rack member 39 is also facilitated by the abovedescribed arrangement inasmuch a it is unnecessary to reach down into wash chamber 12 to insert or remove articles carried by rack member 39.

It should be noted that the two rack members 36 and 39 consume substantially the entire cross-sectional area of wash chamber 12 when they are positioned as shown in FIGURE 1, which is the wash position. Note also that the two rack members assume substantially the same vertical relationship to the individual spray sources, i.e., spray arm 19, spray tube 20 and spray device 27. This, of course, results in the articles being disposed in either of the rack members 36 or 39 receiving substantially the same wash action.

Brackets 34 and 35 have a dimensional relationship wherein bracket 34, which is positioned farther from the hinge member 14 than bracket 35, pivotally engages rack member 36 at a point below hinge member 14 and more remote from closure member 13 than the point at which bracket 35 pivotally engages rack member 39. This dimensional relationship allows the two rack members 36 and 39 to consume substantially all of the horizontal cross-sectional area of wash chamber 12 when closure member 13 is closed and also allows rack members 36 and 39 to move simultaneously, as closure member 13 is opened, to a substantially one-above-the-other relationship as shown in FIGURE 2 with an absence of interference between the rack members and with a minimum of tipping of the rack members.

Thus, it can be seen that the above-described arrangement provides an improved rack system which facilitates the loading and removal of articles at the rear portion of the lower rack in a top-opening dishwasher without sacrificing capacity of the upper rack. In fact, the above-described invention additionally facilitates the loading and it'emoval of dishes of the upper dish-supporting rack sys- Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is illustrated a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, brackets 51 and 52 respectively pivotally support a front rack member 53 and a rear rack member 54. A clip 55 is rigidly secured to rack member 53 and is pivotally connected to bracket 51 by pin 56. Similarly, clip 57 is rigidly secured to rack member 54 and is pivotally connected to bracket 52 by pin 58. A link 59 is pivotally secured at one end to one wall of cabinet 11 and, at 1ts other end, is pivotally secured to rack member 54 by means of a pin 60. A second link 61 is pivotally connected at one end to rack member 53 by means of a clip 62 and pin 63 while at its other end, link 61 is pivotally secured to rack member 54 by means of clip 64 and pin 65.

As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the above-described rack system will assume relationship shown in dotted lines as closure member 13 is pivoted about hinge 14 from its substantially horizontal closed position to its substantially vertical open position. A comparison of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4 with the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 will show that the primary distinction between the two embodiments is the substitution of links 59 and 61 in the embodiment of FIGURE 4 for the link 42 in the embodiment of FIGURES l, 2 and 3.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the examples illustrated, and it is contemplated that various other modifications or applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention:

We claim:

1. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a-hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) first and second bracket means secured to the closure member,

(b) said first bracket means being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second bracket means,

(c) a first rack member pivotally carried by said first bracket means,

(d) a second rack member second bracket means,

(c) said first rack member being secured to said first bracket means at a point below the hinge means and more remote from the closure member than the point at which said second rack member is secured to said second bracket means,

(f) a link pivotally secured to the dishwasher cabinet and also pivotally secured to said second rack member, and

(g) means apart from the closure member and said bracket means interconnecting said first rack member with said second rack member.

2. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) a first pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(b) a second pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(0) said first pair of brackets being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second pair of brackets,

(d) a first rack member pivotally carried by said first pair of brackets,

(e) a second rack member pivotally carried by said second pair of brackets,

(f) said first rack member being secured to said first pair of brackets at points more remote from the closure member than the points at which second rack member is secured to said second pair of brackets,

(g) a link pivotally secured to the dishwasher cabinet and also pivotally secured to said second rack member, and

(h) means apart from the closure member and said brackets interconnecting said first rack member with said second rack member.

3. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal pivotally carried by said closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) first and second bracket means secured to the closure member,

(b) said first bracket means being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second bracket means,

(c) a first rack member pivotally carried by said first bracket means,

(d) a second rack member pivotally carried by said second bracket means,

(e) said first rack member being secured to said first bracket means at a point remote from the closure member than the point at which said second rack member is secured to said second bracket means, and

(f) a rigid link pivotally secured at one end to the dishwasher cabinet and pivotally secured at its other end to said first rack member and pivotally secured intermediate its ends to said second rack member.

4. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) a first pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(b) a second pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the Wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(c) said first pair of brackets being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second pair of brackets,

(d) a first rack member pivotally carried by said first pair of brackets,

(e) a second rack member pivotally carried by said second pair of brackets,

(f) said first rack member being secured to said first pair of brackets at points more remote from the closure member than the points at which said second rack member is secured to said second pair of brackets, and

(g) a rigid link pivotally secured at one end to the dishwasher cabinet and pivotally secured at its other end to said first rack member and pivotally secured intermediate its ends to said second rack memberv 5. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) first and second bracket means secured to the closure member,

(b) said first bracket means being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second bracket means,

(c) a first rack member bracket means,

((1) a second rack member second bracket means,

(c) said first rack member being secured to said first bracket means at a point below the hinge means and more remote from the closure member than the point at which said second rack member is secured to said second bracket means,

(f) a first link pivotally secured at one end to the dishwasher cabinet and pivotally secured at its other end to said second rack member, and

(g) a second link pivotally secured at one end to said second rack member and pivotally secured at its other end to said first rack member.

pivotally carried by said first pivotally carried by said 6. In an automatic dishwasher having a cabinet defining therein a wash chamber with an access opening at the top and a closure member for said access opening pivotal about a hinge means from a substantially horizontal closed position to a substantially vertical open position, a rack system comprising:

(a) a first pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(b) a second pair of brackets rigidly secured to the closure member and depending into the wash chamber when the closure member is closed,

(0) said first pair of brackets being positioned farther from the hinge means than said second pair of brackets (d) a first rack member pivotally carried by said first 1 pair of brackets, (e) a second rack member pivotally carried by said second pair of brackets,

(f) said first rack member being secured to said first pair of brackets at points more remote from the closure member than the points at which said second rack member is secured to said second pair of brackets,

(g) a first link pivotally secured at one end to the dishwasher cabinet and pivotally secured at its other end to said second rack member, and

(h) a second link pivotally secured at one end to said second rack member and pivotally secured at its other end to said first rack member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1938 Loftin 312-269X 4/1963 Guth 312-269 

3. IN AN AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER HAVING A CABINET DEFINING THEREIN A WASH CHAMBER WITH AN ACCESS OPENING AT THE TOP AND A CLOSURE MEMBER FOR SAID ACCESS OPENING PIVOTAL ABOUT A HINGE MEANS FROM A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL CLOSED POSITION TO A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL OPEN POSITION, A RACK SYSTEM COMPRISING: (A) FIRST AND SECOND BRACKET MEANS SECURED TO THE CLOSURE MEMBER, (B) SAID FIRST BRACKET MEANS BEING POSITIONED FARTHER FROM THE HINGE MEANS THAN SAID SECOND BRACKET MEANS, (C) A FIRST RACK MEMBER PIVOTALLY CARRIED BY SAID FIRST BRACKET MEANS, (D) A SECOND RACK MEMBER PIVOTALLY CARRIED BY SAID SECOND BRACKET MEANS, (E) SAID FIRST RACK MEMBER BEING SECURED TO SAID FIRST BRACKET MEANS AT A POINT REMOTE FROM THE CLOSURE MEMBER THAN THE POINT AT WHICH SAID SECOND RACK MEMBER IS SECURED TO SAID SECOND BRACKET MEANS, AND (F) A RIGID LINK PIVOTALLY SECURED AT ONE END TO THE DISHWASHER CABINET AND PIVOTALLY SECURED AT ITS OTHER END TO SAID FIRST RACK MEMBER AND PIVOTALLY SECURED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS TO SAID SECOND RACK MEMBER. 